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Stupid design and I think it is just pot metal. Somebody had cost cutting in mind instead of durability!!

Call Testo and they should send a new one, it is a common issue. Probably have pallets full.

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and stamps EVER.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals". Their stated reason for this policy "... the animals become dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
from an excerpt by Paul Jacob in Sun City, AZ

I store, transport, and work with my Testo 550 in a padded case, and recommend that others learn to do so too.
Testo makes nice instruments, but they are padded case instruments.

My first generation Testo 523 still works as good as the day it was made, but it basically is never fully removed from proximity to its padded case. Even when I hang it, the case is positioned under it.

My 2nd gen 523 died 4 times under warranty before I gave up on it and quit sending it in.
It never had a padded case.

My 550 broke from a 16 inch fall off the top of a refrigerant tank, so I got a padded case for it, which I believe will be the key to getting a useful service life out of it.

practical application outside of lab conditions is not the place for Testo.

as Mark said, Testo DRSAs have been a poor choice for field work. I have the 2nd gen 523 and had similar issues. Testo refused to fix it the last time, still under warranty, yet they said tuff !!

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and stamps EVER.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals". Their stated reason for this policy "... the animals become dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
from an excerpt by Paul Jacob in Sun City, AZ

The stuff that matters has gotten so freggin cheap to hit that price everyone wanted to buy

The pipe temperature sensor for my first generation 523, due to both the overall design of the probe, and that it is a platinum based PT100 sensor, is the most accurate and precise pipe probe I've ever used.
It is also almost as convenient to use as a pipe clamp type probe.

Unfortunately the replacement cost of just the probe was/is close to the cost of what an entire DRSA + 2 probes are now!

I really like both my Digi-Cool BTD-1000 and DRSA-1250 because the instruments themselves are extremely durable, but the temperature probes for the 1250 have been a real letdown.
I may try again with some new probes now that they are using better wire, but I also want to separate the probes into 2 separate plugs.

re-made testo hook

I had to have a hanger so I just made one, took about 15 minutes. I just got an eyebolt, welded a bigger head on the end and ground it round and rebent the ends. This one won't break. If you don't have a welder, just silver solder the ball shape.